Topics

The arguments were familiar, the characters the same - but the opponents of slot machines were scarce at a hearing yesterday on the latest proposal to legalize slots in Maryland. For the third consecutive year, members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee listened to nearly three hours of testimony on a slots bill, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s plan that would open Maryland to slot machines and give the state $800 million a year. Leading the charge were Ehrlich and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who introduced it on behalf of the administration - and has vowed to shepherd a slots bill through his chamber again this year, on its way to an uncertain future in the House of...

Related "Ulysses Currie" Articles

The arguments were familiar, the characters the same - but the opponents of slot machines were scarce at a hearing yesterday on the latest proposal to legalize slots in Maryland.
For the third consecutive year, members of the Senate Budget and...

The stalemate in Annapolis hardened yesterday as Senate leaders said there's no point in talking to their counterparts in the House of Delegates until Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and House Speaker Michael E. Busch strike a deal over slots, spending and...

Oversight of privately run group homes for Maryland's troubled children, a responsibility now divided among several state agencies, should be consolidated, a growing number of lawmakers say.
"We have to move everything into a single agency,"...

The quick movement of slots through the Maryland Senate hit a speed bump yesterday, as Senate Republicans threatened to kill Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s legislation if it is amended to permit expanded gambling near Ocean City.
Amendments proposed by...

General Assembly leaders said yesterday that they are weighing a menu of tax increases and deeper program cuts to transform a stop-gap budget fix proposed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. into a permanent solution.
Lawmakers learned that the budget Ehrlich...

With time for compromise slipping away, the Maryland Senate adopted a budget last night that relies on slot-machine gambling and higher taxes on properties, corporations and health insurance policies to pull the state through the coming year.
The...

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration is not expected to deliver its long-awaited overhaul of its slots machine legislation until Friday, a high-ranking House Democrat said yesterday.
Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a key member of House Speaker...

Top legislators expressed growing doubts yesterday that they could count on gambling revenue from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s plan for slot machines at racetracks to close next year's budget gap.
The chairmen of the General Assembly's budget committees...

In a stinging rebuke to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the Senate Executive Nominations Committee voted last night to reject his choice for environmental secretary, Lynn Y. Buhl.
The decision marks the first time since Maryland's modern government was...

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s embattled nominee to head the Department of the Environment vowed yesterday to take her case to the full Senate - and the public - as administration officials accused legislative leaders of bringing partisanship to new lows....

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. unveiled a sweeping overhaul of his slot machines legislation last night that would cut the share of proceeds going to education by 20 percentage points and roughly double the total allotted to racetrack owners.
The...

House Speaker Michael E. Busch rebuffed Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s revised gambling plan yesterday, saying the House of Delegates should not approve slot machines without a full remedy to state budget problems that would include raising taxes.
...

First in a series of occasional articles.
One of the most powerful people in this town is so boring you could fall asleep listening to him talk about his work. That's when he unleashes his dry sense of humor, finding new ways to say things to keep...

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that his plan to legalize slot machine gambling would generate almost $900 million a year for the state within four years, providing nearly 70 percent of the money needed to pay for a landmark public schools...

As the General Assembly opened public debate this week on expanding legalized gambling, the man whose family has been the face of Maryland horse racing for decades was noticeably missing. And if slots supporters have their way, racing executive Joseph...